


Frost and Flowers

by CleverPudding (TheSmellOfSunscreen)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Fandom
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Ben is an app developer, F/M, Flowers, I decided to start writing it on the first day of the challenge, PNW, Rey is a flower farmer, Reylo - Freeform, Reylo Week, Reylo Week 2018, Seattle, This is my super super late addition to Reylo Week 2018, and this is as far as I've gotten so far, but there will be more!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 14:09:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14498712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSmellOfSunscreen/pseuds/CleverPudding
Summary: Written for Reylo Week 2018, a bit on the late side.Ben Solo is an app developer living in Seattle. Rey is an urban horticulture major at UW and grows flowers. Ben has a bad morning and Rey makes it worse before it gets better.





	Frost and Flowers

Bens day had started out rough. We’re not talking slept through the alarm, coffee maker is broken, lost your keys, rough.

This was wake up in a puddle of your own blood, rough.

After a moment of panic, Ben remembered that he had had his wisdom teeth removed yesterday and that he had probably drooled in sleep, hence the blood smeared all over his pillowcase and sheets. And then the pain returned.

Clutching his jaw, Ben stumbled into his bathroom where he remembered stashing the painkillers he had been prescribed. After battling the tamper proof lid on the pill bottle, fucking lids, he managed to shake out a couple of the pills. He filled a glass with water and examined his face in the mirror; his cheeks were swollen enough that his reflection was almost unrecognizable, and it looked like he had a black eye developing under his right eye. Great. He started to toss the pills into his mouth and realized there were still gauze rolls stuffed into his cheeks. Probably what caused the drooling in the night. Ben pulled out the soggy, bloody bits of cotton and tossed them in the trash next to the sink, his cheeks were still puffy, but he looked a little more like himself.

Having your wisdom teeth removed at 34 wasn’t unheard of, unusual yes, but Bens dentist had been monitoring them for the last couple of years, and had decided that he’d be better off without them.

After taking the pills Ben went to strip his bed and put the blood smeared sheets on to soak, he was lucky to have a washer and dryer in his apartment and didn’t have to lug his wash to a basement or laundromat. Once the laundry was on Ben headed to the kitchen to find some breakfast. After poking around his fridge he discovered that he didn’t have any soft foods suitable for someone post oral-surgery. And that he was almost out of coffee. Deciding that a trip to the market was in order, Ben headed for the shower.

Once showered and dressed, Ben popped another pain pill and grabbed a few of the canvas shopping bags hanging from the back of his front door. After locking up, Ben made his way downstairs toward his car parked in the driveway in front of his garage. Stumbling on the last two steps Ben realized that maybe he shouldn’t drive and that maybe that taking the pain pills on an empty stomach wasn’t the best idea. And that maybe the last pain pill might have been unnecessary. But hell, it was a sunny-ish day in Seattle, he could manage the walk to the bus stop a few blocks away. Huh, usually he’d be pissed about having to take the bus.

Ben made it to the bus stop and was lucky to see the number 40 bus coming down the block, it would take him right to 11th Ave and drop him a block away from the New Seasons on Ballard.

The bus ride was quick, about 10 minutes, Ben barely had time to daydream. ‘Man those pain pills must be good’ he thought after having to steady himself on the handrail as he stepped down to exit the bus.  
Inside the market, Ben wandered the isles, slowly filling his basket with appealing soft foods like pudding, soup, potatoes to mash, and eggs. And coffee, he couldn’t forget coffee. After toting his basket to the front of the market to check out, Ben grabbed his bags and made toward the exit. The front of the store had a big awning under which seasonal decor, plants, and flowers were displayed for sale, and as Ben was walking out, a wall of flowers was walking in. To him.

Ben hadn’t been paying attention to where he was walking, looking down to stuff his credit card back in his wallet, and a branch of some bloom caught him just under his right eye as the bucket holding the blooms smashed into his chest, sending a cascade of water down his front. The collision was hard enough that Ben stumbled backward with an “Oof! Fuck!” And sat down hard

“Oh shit!” the wall of flowers said, staggering for ballance.

Ben sat there, in the middle of the market entrance, his right eye already swelling, and all he could see of his assailant were a pair of bright yellow boots.

The pink flowers were slowly lowered to the ground and the person behind them came into view. Ben, squinting through his rapidly swelling eye, was treated to the sight of the most...colourful, person he’d even seen bending down to peer at him. She was wearing a pair of bright blue overalls, cut off into shorts, with an orange and white striped t-shirt underneath and a kelly green cardigan over it all, in addition to the bright yellow boots. She was crouched in front of him now, one hand on his shoulder, her other hand waving in front of his face.

“I’m so sorry, are you alright? Gosh, if you didn’t have shiner before, you’re certainly going to have one now. Did you hit your head? How many fingers am I holding up?” Her voice was light, with a hint of a London accent and her questions came too fast for him to answer. All Ben could do was grunt, “M’fine,” as he looked around at his scattered groceries. The young woman hastily began to help gather the spilled items, grabbing a bag from his hand and shoving them in.

“Still, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going and-” She cut herself off and took a deep breath. “I’ve got to learn to slow down. I’m always rushing around. Sorry.”

“Stop apologising.” Ben grumbled as he stood, clutching his bags, a tad unsteady on his feet.

“Oh, let me give you a hand with those! Where’d you park? It’s the least I can do.” The young woman looked at Ben hopefully, still holding one of his grocery bags.

“I, uh, I took the bus.” He said, staring at her out of his one good eye. Now that he was standing he noticed that she barely came up to his chin, and that her brown hair was pulled up into three buns at the back of her head.

“Oh, then let me give you a ride home! This is my last delivery of the morning and I really don’t mind. I’m Rey, by the way. I really am sorry about knocking you over. Let me stow this last bunch real quick,” the young woman, Rey, said as she moved to deposit the flowering branches into one of the display buckets. “Oh no! I’ve soaked you as well, I’m so sorry,” she apologised again as she turned around and noticed his drenched shirt. “I’ve got towels in the pickup, let me give you a ride and you can dry off a bit?” She ended the last comment in a question, while she waited for the store manager, who had just come out to see what the commotion was, and was signing something on her clipboard.

Ben, senses slightly dulled from the pain medication and his right eye now almost completely swollen shut, could only stand and stare dumbly at this...creature. She spoke too fast for him, having already moved past a question by the time he’d come up with an answer for her. She moved quickly too, her steps as she collected her now empty buckets, were long and sure. Her movements as she stacked and hoisted them, a precise and efficient muscle memory. “Well” She asks as she walks to a faded yellow pickup truck, double parked in front of the market, “will you let me give you a ride?”

Without thinking, Ben followed her to the truck. She still had a bag of his groceries in her hand, and he doubted she’d give it back until he lets her take him home.

**Author's Note:**

> Better late than never, and I've got 6 more prompts to fill to complete it. I'm still very new to writing fic, especially Star Wars, and as ever, kudos and comments are the marshmallows in my cocoa.


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